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Aruba Remote Access Points vs Cisco IOS SSL VPN comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Remote Access Points
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco IOS SSL VPN
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Aruba Remote Access Points is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 3.2%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba Remote Access Points1.1%
Cisco IOS SSL VPN3.2%
Other95.7%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

AmrIssa - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Information Officer at Mobica Advanced
Remote access has provided secure site connectivity and supports centralized on‑prem operations
We have a solution that is completely Aruba, including the controller, access point, and switch. We deploy ClearPass from Aruba in our company on VMware, which integrates well and works without issues. Aruba Remote Access Points are critical for our construction company because we have many sites…
VM
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Ease and speed of connectivity impress and recommend
I have not found any areas that could be improved so far. I am not sure how Cisco IOS SSL VPN can continue their improvements for the future, but I think it is a great product. To stay on top, they probably need updates to this product. I do not know what kind of improvements these updates are offering. It is a great product so far.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The Aruba Remote Access Points are simple, not expensive, and very intuitive for management and configuration."
"The most valuable feature of Aruba Remote Access Points is the manageability from the central cloud platform."
"The authentication features are valuable."
"Once configured and operational, they tend to function reliably, with few reported issues from clients or customers."
"There are no bad features in Aruba Remote Access Points. Every feature is customized to meet customer requirements according to their limitations, and we can make use of all features to benefit us as needed."
"The solution is very stable, I haven’t heard about any failure of the access points, it seems to be reliable and the performance is good, there are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn’t crash or freeze."
"Aruba Remote Access Points provide a level of protection for our IPs."
"Overall, I would rate Aruba Remote Access Points nine out of ten. I can definitely recommend them to other users."
"The product's setup phase was easy."
"We provide remote access solutions, internet access, and Voice over IP for our customers, as well as IT operational support."
"The user interface is user-friendly."
"While we know that SSL VPN is an advanced technological step towards achieving a more secured network against ever growing multiple networking threats, Cisco's SSL VPN device is definitely a wise choice to pick."
"It's a stable solution."
"The solution is very easy to work with; this is its most valuable feature, and they also did a good job surrounding how you configure the devices."
"The split panel functionality is much better in the Cisco IOS SSL VPN than in the Aruba VPN."
"It's been stable for as long as I've been using it."
 

Cons

"It would help if the remote APs had some kind of SoHo environment with built-in firewall features. That way it could connect directly in a client-to-site type of environment, or a site-to-site VPN environment. That way users could have a complete office setup without coming to the private cloud."
"But the hardware needs to be revamped when we compare the Meraki solution."
"One thing that would be beneficial is for the Aruba Central mobile app to work more effectively. Currently, it does not function as expected when I really need it."
"The price of Aruba Remote Access Points could be better. It is a little expensive."
"The device requires reconfiguration if we use a standalone setup because the battery fault leads to all configurations resetting."
"I don't really have any critiques at this time."
"I use the controller when using Aruba Remote Access Points, particularly during configuration. Hence, room for improvement in Aruba Remote Access Points is for its web UI to be easier to control."
"To make the solution better, the cloud solution should be more integrated as it has too many different menus, and it would be preferable to have it more cohesive in one solution."
"The only issue with Cisco IOS SSL VPN is on the price point. Price is an area of the solution where improvements are required."
"Sometimes browsers are not able to support a certain file, so that is something that can improve."
"The solution needs to integrate password-less technology so that you don't have to remember passwords each time that you log in, which is otherwise tedious. We should be able to log in as long as our system is connected to the internet."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN should add a sensor that can authenticate with a fingerprint instead of having to type the username and password every time."
"The product’s dashboard is not good enough."
"I have no notes in terms of areas of improvement."
"Only its mobile-based application is available right now."
"It would be helpful if Cisco IOS SSL VPN could help us set up devices on our iPads and phones."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Aruba Remote Access Points could be better. It is a little expensive."
"Aruba pricing is not very high. They offer competitive pricing for what they provide."
"Aruba Remote Access Points' pricing is good and affordable."
"Price-wise, Aruba Remote Access Points is in the middle, so my rating for its pricing is three out of five."
"In terms of pricing, we've found Aruba's offerings to be very competitive."
"There are no other expenses than standard licenses for the product."
"You require no separate licensing to convert an access point to RAP."
"It is an expensive product."
"The platform is expensive."
"FortiGate does not charge the client a licensing fee, although Cisco charges clients a couple of dollars per year for each license."
"It stands as the priciest solution available in the market."
"The pricing of the solution is reasonable"
"The licensing fee is expensive."
"With Cisco, there is a free solution or a licensed version of the solution with a set of endpoint services."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN comes with a cost-effective subscription."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
14%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Construction Company
19%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise26
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Remote Access Points?
We do not use Zero Touch Provisioning with Aruba Remote Access Points because the Aruba device being expensive compared to cheaper Cisco options holds us back.
What needs improvement with Aruba Remote Access Points?
The device requires reconfiguration if we use a standalone setup because the battery fault leads to all configurations resetting. This is a significant area for improvement, especially when the dev...
What is your primary use case for Aruba Remote Access Points?
We have a solution that is completely Aruba, including the controller, access point, and switch. We deploy ClearPass from Aruba in our company on VMware, which integrates well and works without iss...
What needs improvement with Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
I have not found any areas that could be improved so far. I am not sure how Cisco IOS SSL VPN can continue their improvements for the future, but I think it is a great product. To stay on top, they...
What is your primary use case for Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
Currently, I use Cisco IOS SSL VPN to VPN in, but not with high frequency. We use Cisco IOS SSL VPN as our VPN client to connect to our network. This is for health.
 

Also Known As

Aruba RAP
Cisco SSL VPN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Trafford Metropolitan Borough
MST Systems
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Remote Access Points vs. Cisco IOS SSL VPN and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.